The Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC) has unveiled an ambitious blueprint aimed at revolutionizing lackluster publishing and printing services along Nasser Road and throughout Uganda, all in the pursuit of elevating customer satisfaction.
Joachim Buwembo, the Chairperson of the UPPC Board of Directors, disclosed this initiative on September 14th, 2023, at Esella Hotel Najera, Kampala, during the launch of the Corporation’s Transcendent Five-Year Strategic Plan (2023-2028).
The plan’s focal points are the augmentation of value through enhanced corporate governance, customer excellence, and streamlined business processes.
Nasser Road, a bustling thoroughfare in Uganda’s capital, is renowned for its budget-friendly printing services. However, it has long been mired in notoriety for subpar quality and the production of counterfeit documents.
In response to this shortfall, Mr. Buwembo pointed out that the substandard printing and publishing services on Nasser Road stem from a death of adequate training for those employed in these print shops.
He affirmed that UPPC will orchestrate numerous training sessions and seminars, both domestically and abroad, at a nominal expense, to professionalize the personnel on Nasser Road, ensuring the delivery of standardized services.
“The individuals on Nasser Road stepped in to fill a void, arising from the absence of formal training. They are essentially learning on the job. UPPC’s role is to connect the client visiting Nasser Road, with a skilled professional,” elucidated Buwembo.
“So automatically once the training services approach and brought near to them at a relatively low fee, they will come and study, you the client will just be pulled to a better service provider,” he affirmed.
Organized under the auspices of UPPC, this occasion garnered substantial attendance from pivotal stakeholders in the printing and publishing sphere, including representatives from Uganda Security Printing Corporation (USPC), Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAIF), delegates from the Central Government, and representatives from the Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC), along with other esteemed guests whose presence was instrumental in deliberating the pertinent matters at hand.
The event launch revolved around the theme: “Elevating Value through Enhanced Corporate Governance, Customer Excellence, and Streamlined Business Processes,” emblematic of UPPC’s unwavering dedication to upholding the pinnacle of corporate governance, bestowing superlative service upon clients, and optimizing internal operations for maximal efficiency.
Call to Leverage UPPC’s Technological Advancement
In her eloquent address, Hon. Milly Babirye Babalanda, the Minister of Presidency who was the event’s chief guest, implored key stakeholders in the printing and publishing realm to seize the golden opportunity presented by the corporation’s cutting-edge technological marvels like
the state-of-the-art 7K HP Indigo color machine, thereby propelling UPPC into the distinguished ranks of global printing excellence.
“I urge you to effectively and maximally utilize the assets already acquired such as the versatile 7K HP Indigo color machine, which is intended to position UPPC as a world class printer at the highest standards of quality,” passionately declared Hon. Babalanda.
She underscored government’s unwavering commitment to innovation, exemplifying it with the advent of an e-gazette as a testament to UPPC’s remarkable adaptability to the ever-evolving digital landscape. The acquisition of these state-of-the-art seven-color machines, she said, forms the core of UPPC’s ambitious organizational expansion, heralding a vibrant future.
Hon. Babalanda hailed the strategic collaboration with the esteemed German Consortium of Veridos as a groundbreaking leap forward, empowering the secure production of vital documents such as passports, driving permits, and land titles.
She stressed that UPPC’s strategic blueprint seamlessly weaves together Uganda’s Vision 2040, National Development Plan III, and the NRM manifesto.
Furthermore, she noted that the corporation’s trajectory harmonizes perfectly with national aspirations, focusing on industrialization, the Buy Uganda Build Uganda initiative, and the creation of substantial employment opportunities within the printing industry and its associated value chains.
Addressing attendees at the event, the Managing Director for UPPC Prof. Sudi Nangoli eloquently unveiled the pivotal strategies for the Corporation’s triumphant journey.
Enveloping itself in the embrace of cutting-edge technology, he proclaimed that the corporation aspires to infuse 80% of its product offerings with digital prowess by the year 2026, harmoniously aligning with the national digitization roadmap.
Moreover, he articulated that forging partnerships with sustainability-centric clientele would be the linchpin, fostering both ecological preservation and fiscal resilience.
With fervor, he extolled the astutely devised strategies for procuring inputs in prodigious quantities, a move he believed would fortify market competitiveness, whittle down operational expenditure, and stoke the fires of efficiency.
He divulged that UPPC is embarking on a journey of diversity, venturing into complementary domains like scholastic materials, and broadening its horizons in publishing, all while extending its footprint in the market.
He championed the G-A-B-I-R-O framework (Gazette, Aggregation of UPPC products and services, Books, ICT, Reports, and Online) as the lodestar for UPPC’s strategic deployment.
This master plan, he said, lays down unequivocal strategies across four pivotal vantage points: delivering impeccable customer service, augmenting organizational prowess, fine-tuning business processes, and meticulously minding financial considerations.
The launch of UPPC’s Strategic Plan (2023-2028) signifies the dawn of a new era marked by innovation, sustainability, and a commitment to excellence in printing and publishing services.
About UPPC:
UPPC is a public enterprise wholly owned by the Uganda Government, operating under the Office of the President.
The Corporation is tasked with the responsibility of printing and publishing all public documents, including the Uganda Gazette; the official Government newspaper of record.
UPPC’s main office is located in Entebbe, along Airport Road, with a significant presence in Kampala City at Airways House. The corporation also has branches in Mbale, Jinja, Hoima, Mbarara, Fort Portal, and Kapchorwa, among others.
